Game 73: A Hard Go

When the game was over in the Nationwide Arena last night, you could almost hear Ken Hitchcock bellowing one of his oft-used phrases from just over the horizon.

“She was a harrrrrrrrd go there, eh?”

She was.

The Blue Jackets played the Pittsburgh Penguins to a standstill for two and a half periods. In fact, the Jackets played the Penguins to a standstill for 59 out of the 60 minutes of regulation – and, in stretches, outplayed the Penguins. But that one minute was fatal.

Chris Kunitz scored on a wrist shot from the top of the left circle at 10:35 of the third period. Beau Bennett scored on an odd-man rush, with a wicked wrist shot, 47 seconds later. The Jackets countered with a power-play goal late in regulation, but they ran out of time.

The Penguins won 2-1 before a standing-room crowd of 18,908, the largest crowd to visit Nationwide this season. The goaltenders – Curtis McElhinney (29 saves) and Marc-Andre Fleury (35) – were generally brilliant.

“Obviously, when you look back on the game, there are some things that you want back,” said Jackets center Brandon Dubinsky, who had two glorious chances early but was foiled, in part, by rolling pucks.

“It’s disappointing, but we have to let this go,” he said. “We’re still in a good spot and we’ve got a huge game tomorrow night (in Carolina). We’ve got to find a way to get two points.”

The Jackets (80 points) lost ground on the Philadelphia Flyers (85), who are holding the third automatic playoff berth in the Metropolitan Division. They Jackets continue to hold the first of the two wild card in the Eastern Conference, ahead of Detroit and Washington, both idle tonight.

The Penguins (99 points) are the runaway leaders in the Metro. They clinched a playoff berth, their eighth in a row.

The Penguins, depleted by injury, had lost their previous three games. They have had four three-game losing streaks this season. None of these streaks have reached four games.

Penguins coach Dan Bylsma knew the Jackets would come at his team. He wanted the intensity to be matched.

“I thought that was a very hard-fought, playoff-type game,” Bylsma said. “I thought to a man we stepped up and played that game.”

The first period was woolly. Nick Foligno carried himself well in a fight with oaky defenseman Robert Bortuzzo in the ninth minute. Jack Johnson and Kunitz roughed each other up in a scrum beside McElhinney’s crease in the 13th minute. Matt Calvert got into a yapfest with Sidney Crosby. James Neal added his own touch of class to the imbroglio by jamming his stick up Dalton Prout’s crotch.

The Jackets had three power plays in the first period and, while they set up well and applied pressure, they did not cash in. They out-shot the Penguins 13-9 in the period.

The Penguins had three power plays in the second period and did not cash in.

“We had to get the first goal tonight,” Jackets center Ryan Johansen said, “and we didn’t.”

There was a pervasive feeling that this chippy, tight-checking, hard-hitting game would go scoreless through regulation. Then, midway through the third period, Kunitz scored. His goal stunned the Jackets fans and set a healthy throng of Penguins fans to cheering.

It was an innocent-looking play. Crosby came over the blue line and sent a pass to Kunitz, from the top of the left circle to top of the right. McElhinney might have screened by Wisniewski, who was mid-slot. Kunitz’ shot snuck under McElhinney’s glove arm.

“He played a terrific game tonight,” Jackets coach Todd Richards said, “but that one shot, I think he’d like to have back.”

Moments later, the Jackets got caught pinching along the left wall and the Penguins went off on a two-on-one rush. Bennett – playing in his 39th career game, and his first since returning from a months-long stint on the injured list – ripped a shot from the right circle to the inside of the far post.

The Jackets kept coming. With Kunitz in the penalty box for tripping Boone Jenner, they scored a power-play goal with 3:06 remaining in regulation. The goal was originally credited to Wisniewski but later in the night was given to Calvert, who was setting a screen in front.

“The one shot that got by (Fleury) was the one he didn’t see,” Bylsma said. “I thought he was outstanding all game.”

Side dishes

--McElhinney felt to 0-4 against the Penguins this season. He played in all five games of the season series, starting four of them.

--Wisniewski, originally credited with the Jackets’ goal, has 4 assists in his past two games. He is tied for fifth among NHL defensemen with 23 power-play points.

--Calvert’s goal ended a 12-game slump. He has two goals in his past 23 games.

--Bobrovsky will travel to Carolina with the team for a game against the Hurricanes on Saturday night. “We’ll get up tomorrow and he’s going to go and skate,” Richards said. “And we’ll make a decision then, whether he’s playing or backing up.” Mike Mckenna was recalled from AHL Springfield and served as McElhinney’s backup last night. He was returned to Springfield after the game.

--The Penguins (47-22-5) clinched an eighth consecutive playoff berth with eight games remaining. They extended their Metropolitan Division lead over the second-place New York Rangers to 13 points.

--Kunitz’s goal was his 34th of the season, tying him for fifth in the league with Sidney Crosby. Crosby had the primary assist on that goal. It was his league-leading 98th point of the season.

--An announced crowd of 18,908 was the largest of the season in Nationwide Arena and largest since the Blue Jackets drew 19,002 for the finale against Nashville last season. It was the fifth sellout of the season.

--Jackets right wing R.J. Umberger played had only 11:25 of ice time. Richards said lineup changes were possible in Carolina. Hmmm….

--Marko Dano had an assist for Springfield tonight in a 6-1 win over Hartford. It was his first AHL point. AHL game. Dano, a Slovak, was selected by the Jackets with the No. 27 overall pick in last June’s draft.

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